Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1887-08-18
II found several headless bodies. Those
rho recognized the dead Immediately ticketed

| the theory that the bridge was set on f1re IN
| ortler to thus perpetrate robberies."
| W. Quicker, one OF the Galesburg passengers,
| relates u singular experience. HIS wife and nc
| were in the rear OF chair car, the tenth car OF
| the train. They had no warning CT what was
to come. The train was running at the ratio Of
| thir.y-five miles nn hour. Mr.. Quicker was
aroused by the terrible crash Of glass and
fsat Tine me tbs fnd o 81 he
| through broken window and slid down the
slanting side of the car. His wife followed
that end Of tie car escaped Without Serious in
| jury The top of the car parted in the center.
The other ond was crushed like an egg-shell. ;,
| p. p. Van Lew, who walked from the safe end
| OF the car the moment before, was caught and
| dangerously injured.
4There were thirty in tho car" said Mr..
ony 9y three a re One Hl
| had lost his wife and child and WAS badly in
| jured himself went into an adjacent cornheld
| and committed suicide. Six young men from
Canton who were in the first car were saved by
| being thrown up through the parted roof" A
| woman seated near Mr.. Quicker thrust her head
| through u car window md was decapitated.
/ The pockets OF a number of those injured were
| picked by nnfeeling rowdics."
| II. g. Riser, of kankakeo, who was at tho
scene of the wreck soon nitcr the disaster,
| says:
| Il was at FL Paso and missed tho excursion
| train by less than i've minutes. Twenty-six
when we got to Forest the conductor had
orders to bring all tho physicians he could;
! When we arrived at tho wreck we found
the most heart.rcnding and indescribable
| begging to bo taken from the wreck, rs
| they were afraid of it catching FIRE. The bridge
| was on fire and no water was at hand to nut it
out. All the trninmen and such passengers as
could went to work to smother the fro. We hnd
nothing to work with except onr bands, and
| had to carry dirt MS best we could.
| AT about 80 n. m. q shower OF rain putAout
| the fire and VIC turned our attention to reliev.
! ing tho people in the cars. We. worked until
bodies, besides t scores @ OF Of wounded poo.
pie. They were terribly mangled. Re-
lief trains took the dead and wounded to Piper
school house at Chatsworth were improvisod
into q hospital and the citizens came to our
relief with coffee, bread, and butter, and
everything possible, especially bandages and
medicine for the suffering
Mr.. Risser said he stood tho sickening work
of relieving the wounded and getting out the
dead until he came to the dead bodies Of two
girls about the age of his own, when his hui
manty gave way and he was compelled to
stop.
The news of the disaster was brought to
Chatsworth by one of the passengers about mid
night, and the inhabitants aroused. Buggies,
lnmber.wagons. and every kind Of vehicle were
corpscs wero taken from the wreck
they were laid out on the side of the
covering the dead and moving them to
Chatsworth was begun. AS soon as the corpses
were received they were placed in a large
also in the public school house and in
the depot-wniting room. The residents of
tho town threw open their houses for
but the former wero all taken to the
improvised nlorgues Friend and relatives
Of the dead same to Chatsworth with
the romans, and the scenes in the different
places where the bodies lay were heartrending.
As the day passed. bodies were being contin-
ually Lrou9ht from tho scene of the wreck, the
n nytt Nf fhny hnt,, n1nl
ffightful manner, many of them having their
faces entirely torn away leaving their brains
exposed, while their jaws, fingers, and legs had
been torn of
NOTHING TO LIVE FOR.
There was one incident of the accident which
stood out more horrible than all Of those horri-
his wife, and little child. His name could not
be learned, but it is said he got on at
Peoria. When the accident occurred the en-
tire family of three were caught and held down
by broken woodwork. Finally, when relief
came, the man turned to the friendly aid and
feehly said:
Take out my wife first. I'm afraid the child
is dead"
So they carried out the mother and as a
broken seat was taken off her crushed breast
the blood which welled from her lips told how
badly she was hurt. They carried the child a
fair-hnired, blue-eyed girl of 3. and laid her in
the corn,leld, dead, alongside OF her dying
mother. Then they went back for the father and
brought him out. Both his legs were broken but
he crawled through the corn to the side Of his
WIG, 1eel1uB uer lOVeQ 1eaLureS Ill the
darkness, pressed some brandy to her lips and
asked her how she felt A feeble groan was
the only answer, and the next instant she died.
The man felt the form of his dead wife and
child, and cried out: My God. there is moth
ing more for mo to live for now !" and. taking
pistol out of his pocket pulled the gger The
bullet went surely throught the BRAN, and the
three dead bodies OF that little family are now
living side by side in Chatsworth waiting to
bo identified.
INCIDENTS OF THE HORROR.
One man with both legs broken dragged him
self away from the wreck and took out pistol
and shot himself in the head superintendent
Armstrong of the Wabash accompanied the
excursion with his special car, with several
oihcials OF the road. None of them WAS hurt
From the latest reports it is said that Log were
killed aud about threo hundred wounded, maxi
ing it one Of the worst railroad accidents ever
known in this country.
There was an incident in the affair which was
not only remarkable in its way, but shows how
terribly those six coaches We're jamIned and
mashed together. When the accident occurred
Andy Mooney, of Peoria, and Conductor Still
well, who was in charge OF the train, were three
cars from each other. Mooney was in the
next instant they found themselves literally
in each others arms, the car in (which
the conductor cor, =. was riding having
on top of the one which Mooney was in The
strange part of it was that neither man was
hurt
There was also nnother wonderful escape in
the first car. This car was completely tele-
| scoped, and the coach behind it crashed entire
iy through it, crushing every passenger. Only
four people escaped al We from this car, and
three OF them were badly wounded, but one o
large woman in the middle of the car did not
killed. xiii s''A''n' WINE every one around her wns
Don't ask me to describe tho scene,r said
Mr.. A. II; Stautfer, of Bloomington. 1T was in
dressed, and did all 1 could to get the people
out OF the wreck. One man in the chair-cnr
called to ne, aud as went to his aid had to
literally walk on the bodies of other passen-
| gers. While had him in my arms and was
| gasp and died"
| MIRACULOUS ESCAPE.
| Howard A. Cutter, of Carthage, ILL.,, who was
in the Piper City wreck, with his wife and baby,
was was IN chair-car @ No. Is, the second from the
-, Il III, heard three bumps, as though the car was
OIL nns the ,frn track said to my wife: I'VE
every direction. My wife said: %, Howard
are you hurt2 said no. 1 had the little giri
in. in M. arms Ny wife said: u can't
l kicked Il hole in the window, lifted my wife
out, and dropped the little girl out of the win
dow ! measured this morning and it was
eight feet. l helped two other ladies out who
were last and then climbed out mysef A
woman was lying against the window with her
M mead cut almost of. l took my wife and baby
out OF the way, and then went back and took
| out six dead bodies from our chr. was bare
footed, and as / was getting my feet cut to
pieces turned my attention to the relief of the
He says that the sights he saw wcro hoart-
| fending. There were men, women, and children
| with limbs broken, bodies mashed hends
mashed, several with the head severed from the
ty. body. md mnngled in all the most horrible
@ 1oims y conceivable: He says he has no doubt
that there were q few villains there for the eS.
press purpose of plunder. He states that ho saw
one OF these outlaws climb to car window
where lady Is hand was hanging out and steaI
n ring from her finger. 'se''A
Mrs. Cutter told reporter that two yillains
helped lady out of the wreck and stole her
watch and chain while doing 80.
LYING WITH THE DEAD.
lhomas Trimm. a commercial traveller fron,
Park Ridge, was in the second coach. II wns
sitting on the coal-box.' he says, when the
wreck occurred. The car went over every.
thing seemed to close together, and I WAS
wedgod between the box md the end nf
e.t ohe car. MY face as | lay was pressed down
agains. ,d 81. the lace OF a woman. She was dead.
ana the sensation was something dreadfn1
ei Siose by mo was man across whose chest and
1t .hr9at some timbers wero pressing and no was
choKing to denth. He was dead before tf,ey got
us as,T out. l could move part of my bodv and
nhally twisted around go that I cnnid
! y, 1,<~1or